Serendipity
by NoelleG
Summary: Months after his escape from HYDRA, Bucky Barnes runs into a mysterious British girl that decides to do everything in her power to help him remember the man he once was, even if he almost killed her. During the process, he'll learn he might not be the only one who needs saving. And Bucky knows just the right person to help him save her.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N. This story develops in 2015 (after CA: TWS events), which would make Hermione 36 years old. That didn't suit my purposes for this story, so I decided to change it, making Hermione ten years younger. Enjoy!**

 **PS. Thanks to the reader who pointed out how the dates didn't make sense! I made a mistake while writing, the story starts March 16, not March 26 as it was originally posted (I keep trying to write your name, but FF deletes it when I post the chapter)**

* * *

 _ **Sometimes serendipity is just intention unmasked ~ Elizabeth Berg**_

* * *

 **March 16th, 2015  
New York**

The loud _'CRACK'_ puts him on alert, quickly spinning to where the noise came from. There's a young woman there. He's fairly sure she _wasn't_ there a few seconds ago, when he chose that alley to hide. He hasn't heard any steps, or any noise that gives away her arrival, except for that ' _CRACK_ '.

That fact alone is enough for him to consider her a threat. He has her against the wall in a second, his metal hand closing around her throat.

Her eyes widen in surprise when she manages to react, and her hands go to his, trying to remove it from her neck. He knows she won't be able to, and she seems to understand that few seconds after, because she stops.

"Who are you?" he growls at her.

"I… Her-Hermione."

He's never heard that name before.

"Are you HYDRA?"

It's probably a stupid question to ask. He knows no HYDRA agent would willingly identify as one in front of him. But he wants to see her reaction to the question. He's found out he's good at reading people. The woman's eyes widen, and he knows she recognises the name.

"I'm… I'm n-not," she manages to answer, the grip on her throat making it hard for her to talk. He doesn't loosen the grip, though. "But _you_ a-are."

Her eyes are on his metal arm, particularly on the red star right below his shoulder. The answer surprises him, and she takes that moment to make a move. He hears the ' _CRACK_ ' again, and suddenly she's not there, his hand closing on thin air.

"I have nothing to do with HYDRA."

He spins quickly when he hears her voice right behind him. Her hands are up, as if she were trying to prove him she's no threat. Now that she can properly talk, he notices she has British accent.

"Are you S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

She shakes her head. "I have no relationship with any of those," she promises. "My name is Hermione Granger."

"I'm… Bucky?"

Hermione blinks at him. "Are you asking me?"

"I don't… The guy on the bridge called me that."

He honestly has no idea why he's explaining that to her. She seems honest when she tells him she's not HYDRA, but that still doesn't make her unthreatening. He should grab his gun and point it at her, just to be sure. He has no idea why he doesn't.

"But you're not sure?" she insists.

"I don't remember. I think I knew him… from before _._ "

She nods. "Before what?"

"Before _them_."

She looks at her arm again. "HYDRA?"

When he nods, she takes a step toward him, her hands still up. He takes a step back almost at the same time, and she stops moving.

"You worked for HYDRA?" He nods. "But you don't anymore."

He shakes his head.

"I'm gonna grab something from my back pocket," she warns him. "It's not a gun."

"Do it slowly," he orders.

She nods, and then her right hand moves very slowly until it reaches whatever it is she wants to grab. When the hand moves again and he can see it, there's a wooden stick on it, that she places between them, making sure not to point it at him.

"Do you know what this is?"

He does. "It's a wand."

"It is," she confirms. "Did HYDRA talk to you about _us_?"

"You're a witch." He's heard about them. "HYDRA fears you."

The way she squares her shoulders and stands a little taller makes Bucky think she's quite proud of that fact. And she should.

"The guy on the bridge." she asks. "Is he your friend?"

"I think he was. He was smaller."

She looks like she has no idea what he's talking about, but she nods nonetheless. "Is he the reason you're not HYDRA anymore?"

Bucky nods, finally sure of an answer. "He knew me. He said he didn't want to fight me."

"But you wanted to fight him?"

"He was my mission," Bucky explains to her. "But I didn't want to. I failed my mission."

"And you left."

He nods again. "They don't like it when I don't complete my mission."

Hermione winces, as if she knew what he meant by that. She takes another step towards him, and Bucky stills, on alert, but forces himself not to move. She offers him her hand, putting it right in front of him.

"This is my weapon," she explains to him. "Take it."

Bucky blinks, surprised. "Why?"

"I want you to be sure I won't hurt you."

He takes the wand. "But I'm _evil_."

Hermione smiles softly. "I don't think you are, Bucky."

"I've done bad things," he insists.

"Did you want to?" he shakes his head, vehemently. "Then you aren't. Do you remember things from before?"

He knows she's referring to before HYDRA.

"I remember some things. The guy on the bridge."

He can't stop thinking about the guy on the bridge. He called him Bucky, as if he was completely sure that was him. _I'm with you 'til the end of the line_ , he told him, right before he fell on the river. He'd heard that before. He'd _said_ that before.

"You were hiding in here. From HYDRA?"

Bucky nods. "I escaped. They want me back."

"But you have a place to hide?" His face must be answer enough. "You don't. You're just… running?"

"I have to. They can't find me."

"Why haven't you look for your friend? The guy on the bridge?"

Bucky shakes his head, his eyes wide in fear. "I don't want to harm him. I don't want to complete the mission."

"But you said you didn't."

He looks at her, hopelessly. "I don't know if they can _make_ me."

Hermione seems to understand. She looks at him silently for a few minutes, and Bucky has the feeling she's trying to decide what to tell him next. He waits, patiently, until she finally seems resolved.

"Come with me," she offers. "I live near here. Alone. You'll be safe."

Bucky gives Hermione her wand back.

"I don't know if they can make me hurt _you_."

"You won't," she promises, taking the wand. "I'm not your mission. HYDRA doesn't know me, so I'm not a threat."

She's right, but he's still not sure. "What if I forget again?"

With a smile, Hermione takes another step towards him. She places her wand in her back pocket again, and her hand slowly moves until it's placed on his arm. His metal arm. He's so surprised by the gesture that he doesn't even flinch at the contact.

"I'll help you remember."

* * *

Hermione's house is just a couple of blocks away from the alley. They walk together, Hermione keeping her pace slow so he can search for threats every time they arrive to a corner.

The building she lives in seems new, and they take the elevator. It stops in the fourth floor, and Hermione lets him get out first to swipe the area. Then, she directs him to a door with a C engraved in the wood.

Before she opens the door, she looks at him. "Don't be scared if you see movement inside," she tells him. "I have two cats."

He nods, thankful for the warning. It would have been a really bad way of thanking her for her help, shooting at her cats.

When she finally opens the door there are, as she warned, two cats waiting for her at the hallway. One of them is black, with really bright yellow eyes. The other, a little bigger, is white. His blue eyes remember Bucky of the guy on the bridge. He had blue eyes, too.

"They're Snow and Onyx," she tells him. "Don't be offended if they hiss at you; they're not very open with strangers."

The white cat –Snow, he supposes- moves toward him, and Bucky prepares himself to be hissed at. To his surprise, though, the cat stops at his feet and scrubs his head against his trousers.

When he looks at Hermione for help, she's gaping at the cat. "That's…. new," she tells him. Then, she smiles. "I think he likes you."

As if to prove her right, Snow starts purring. The other cat –Onyx- seems a little more wary of him, and moves towards Hermione instead. She catches him in her arms, and the cat gently hits her arm with his head. When she starts scratching him, Onyx starts purring as well.

"Come on," she tells him, recovering from the surprise. "I'll show you your room."

She moves with Onyx still on her arms, and when Bucky follows her, Snow quickly runs until he reaches him.

Hermione guides him through the hallway until they arrive at the end. There are two doors there, and he supposes one of them it's the room he'll be staying in. When she opens the door at the right, he comes to a small room. It only has a bed, a bedside table and a wardrobe. It's more than enough for him, though. More than he remembers having in a long, long time.

"I guess you don't have more clothes that the ones you're wearing," at his nod, she tells him, "I could transfigure something for you to sleep on. More comfortable than that."

Bucky supposes she's talking about magic, but accepts. It'd be nice, not having to sleep in his tactical clothes.

"I'll let you install," she smiles at him. "I'll bring you the clothes in a few minutes. Get comfortable."

When she spins and walks away, Bucky looks down at Snow, waiting for him to follow her. The cat, though, follows _him_ inside the bedroom when he enters. When he sits on the edge of the bed, the cat jumps on his lap. Bucky freezes, not knowing what to do. Then, Snow starts hitting his head against him like Onyx did with Hermione early, so he tries scratching him like she did.

The cat purrs in contempt. Bucky smiles.

* * *

 **A/N. I've been writing this story for quite some time now. It's already finished, although I'm thinking adding a couple more chapters, but it won't slow down the update schedule of my other story.**

 **P.S. The scene where Bucky meets Snow and Onyx it's** _ **literally**_ **what happened when I introduced my cats to my boyfriend.**


	2. Chapter 2

**March 20th, 2015  
Seattle**

"There's nothing here."

Sam's voice makes Steve return to reality. He's right. They are in what looks like an old HYDRA base, but whoever used it before, is long gone. And they left no data, no leads, the only proof they were ever there, the HYDRA symbol printed into one of the walls.

"We have no way of knowing Bucky was ever here," Sam continues.

"I know."

Sam sighs. "Do you? We've been on this hunt for months, Steve, and we've found _nothing_ but old HYDRA bases. No sign of Bucky."

"I know," he repeats.

A hand places in his shoulder, offering silent support. "The trace has gone cold, pal. We're just running circles, going nowhere."

"You want to stop looking."

It's not meant to be a question. He's known for weeks that Sam was on the limit of his patience with him. Steve's honestly surprised it's taken him so long to voice his thoughts aloud.

"I'm not asking you to stop looking for Bucky," he answers. "I just think we're not getting closer to find him _now_ than we were when we started."

Steve knows he's right. He just wishes he weren't.

"Let's go back to New York," Sam proposes. "We'll regroup; see if anyone's heard about him. If we get a new lead, we'll start looking again."

" _If_ we get a new lead?"

Sam rolls his eyes. " _When_ we get one. I'm not asking you to give up on him, Steve. I'm asking you to be logical about this. We can't keep running around the country chasing a ghost."

The plan sounds logical, and Steve knows that, had Bucky been someone else, he would have propose that same plan long time ago. It _is_ Bucky, though. Things are a little more complicated.

"Have you even considered that maybe he doesn't want to be found?"

Steve looks at him. "What do you mean? He saved my life. He recognised me."

"And that caused him to question _years_ of brainwashing and programming," Sam explained. "He's probably confused as hell, trying to figure out what's real and what's not."

"Wouldn't make that easier if he were around me?"

Sam sighs, and Steve has the feeling he's trying very hard not to treat him as one of his patients, even though he's sounding a lot like a therapist right now.

"Steve," he starts, and he looks like he's trying to select his words very carefully, "I know you think he's the same old Bucky you remember from the forties, but he's _not_. And I'm not saying he didn't remember you," he clarifies before Steve can interrupt him. "I'm saying he can't suddenly remember you and just like that let go of _seventy years_ of brainwashing."

"I know that," he notices he sounds a little defensive.

Sam arches his brows. "Do you, really? He might remember you, Steve. He might remember everything about his past. But he won't _ever_ be the same Bucky Barnes who fought alongside you before all this happened."

Even if he knows the chances of that are practically non-existent, it doesn't stop Steve from wishing that could be possible. And it doesn't hurt less, hearing it from someone with as much experience in trauma as Sam.

"I'll learn to love whoever he is, now," he tells Sam.

His phone rings before Sam can answer him. The name _Natasha_ appears on his screen, and that makes him frown. The last time he'd spoken to her, Natasha had all but told him she was going to disappear.

"Nat?"

" _Hello, Steve,_ " Natasha's voice sounds on the other line. " _We have a problem._ "

"HYDRA?" he asks her, worried.

Natasha takes a moment before answering. " _The United States Government. You need to come back to New York. Bring Sam with you._ "

She hangs up before he can say anything else. Sam is looking at him questioningly, obviously intrigued by the call.

"Looks like we _are_ coming back to New York, after all."

* * *

 **March 24th, 2015  
New York**

Living with Bucky is almost like living alone, Hermione has learned over the past week. He barely leaves his room, except for having meals and taking showers. She's bought clothes for him, and Hermione has no idea how he managed, but he learned to use the washing machine a couple of days after arriving, and he cleans everything he uses. He also cleans the house, even if she's insisted over and over that he doesn't have to.

Even if he seemed to have no problem talking to her when they met, he has barely spoken a few words to her ever since. He does, however, seem to communicate quite well with one of her cats. She has barely seen Snow since Bucky arrived. The cat had decided Bucky's room was his new favourite place to be, and he followed Bucky everywhere.

She understands his desire to be left on his own, and respects his privacy, talking to him whenever he's around, but never getting offended or demanding an answer when he doesn't talk back.

He's _healing_ , Hermione can see, very slowly, at his own pace, but he looks less terrified and on edge that he was that day on the alley, so that's enough for Hermione.

When she goes to bed that night after a long day at the Ministry, though, things don't happen like they usually do.

It starts like every other night. Bucky comes out of his room when he hears the door open and greets her with a simple nod of his head, Snow following him closely behind –and ignoring her, like usual. They sit together at the kitchen and have dinner in companionable silence. Hermione talks a few times to tell him about her day, and he makes her know he's listening by looking at her when she talks.

When she wishes him a good night a couple of hours after, Bucky nods his head again and retreats to his room. She stays awake for a couple of hours more, working, a hot cup of tea next to her, and Onyx silently watching her. It's almost midnight when she decides to call it a night and go to bed. When she walks next to Bucky's room, though, a noise stops her.

She stops in front of his door, trying to figure out what to do. A few minutes later, another noise can be heard. It sounds like a grunt.

"Bucky?" she knocks on his door. "Are you okay?"

There's silence at the other side of the door for a while. Then, when the grunts start sounding louder and more often, Hermione decides she's had enough and finally opens the door.

Bucky's asleep, having what looks like a terrible nightmare. He's sweating a lot, tossing around on the bed and clenching the sheets so strongly the knuckles on his flesh hand are white.

"Not the Asset," he gasps in his sleep. "Not the Asset. _Bucky_."

She knows coming closer to him and trying to wake him up is a high risk. Bucky hasn't shown any signs of violence during the time he's been staying with her, but Hermione can't be sure he won't react violently when he's so deep inside a nightmare.

"Bucky," she calls him, keeping her distance.

"'Til the end of the line."

It sounds like a broken whisper, and it breaks Hermione's heart. She knows she's making a mistake, putting herself in an unnecessary risk, but she walks towards him anyway. When she's next to him, she places a hand on his shoulder and shakes him gently.

"Bucky?"

His eyes open suddenly, and he has her pinned on the bed before she can even blink, his metal arm on her throat, just like the day they met. Hermione forces herself to relax and looks at him directly on the eyes.

"You're safe," she tells him. " _Bucky_."

It seems to work. He blinks, looks at her a little disoriented and his arm slowly retires from her throat.

"Are you okay?"

He moves a little away from her. "I'm sorry. It was…"

"A nightmare," she nods. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"I _hurt_ you," he tells her, miserably.

Hermione shakes her head. "You didn't. I'm fine. Are _you_ okay?"

It takes him a while to answer. Hermione waits patiently, both seated on the bed, close to each other but not touching. Bucky's breathing slowly starts getting back to normal, and Snow suddenly jumps on his lap, appearing out of nowhere. Bucky starts scratching him behind the ears, and Hermione thinks he's doing it without even noticing.

"There were memories," he tells her after a long silence.

"Of your time in HYDRA?"

He nods. "And before. Of the guy on the bridge."

It's the most Hermione's heard him say since the day they met. She wants to squeeze his hand in support, but knows Bucky doesn't like to be touch and decides against it. Instead, she stands up from the bed and moves to the door. Before leaving the room, she turns to look at him.

"Would you like some tea?"

He looks a little caught off guard by the question, but ends up accepting, moving from the bed and following her. Snow makes a little sound of disgust, having been disturbed, but follows him.

Hermione goes straight to the kitchen the prepare two cups of tea, and Bucky sits on the table and waits for her.

"Here," she gives him a cup and sits with him. "You don't have to go to sleep right away. We can stay here for as long as you need."

Bucky takes a sip of his tea. "Thanks."

* * *

 **March 25th, 2015**

When she wakes up the morning after, Bucky's waiting for her on the kitchen, two cups of coffee already on the table. He offers her one of them as soon as Hermione appears on the door. She guesses it's his way of apologizing for what happened last night. Or maybe thank her.

They stayed away for almost two hours, drinking their teas in silence. Bucky looked lost in his thoughts, and Hermione figured he was trying to piece together the few memories that had appeared on his nightmares.

Eventually, he had stood from the table, put the two empty cups on the sink and wish her a good night before going back to his room. Hermione hadn't heard any other noise coming from there for the rest of the night. She wondered if it had been because he hadn't had any more nightmares, or because he hadn't sleep at all.

"Thanks for the coffee," she accepts the cup with a smile.

They sit together in silence for a few minutes, until Bucky talks.

"HYDRA did… _things_ to me," he tells her. "They made me forget, but lately I've been remembering. And it all comes back when I'm asleep."

Hermione nods. "I understand," she promises him. "I have unpleasant memories, too. My world… I don't know how much you know about it."

"I know there was a war."

The memories come crashing all at once, and Hermione takes a moment to compose herself. She nods at him.

"I was a part of that war," she explains to him. "And sometimes, when I sleep, those memories come back."

She forces herself to stop when she realizes she's started to scratch her forearm. She places both her hands on the cup of coffee, trying to have something to hold so she doesn't start doing it again.

"How do you stop it?"

"I tried, for a while," she admits. "There's a thing in my world, it's called the Dreamless Potion. I think the name's pretty self-explanatory" He nods. "The doctors suggest me to start taking it when the nightmares became so much. I did, and it worked for a while."

"It doesn't work anymore?"

Hermione sighs. "The potion acts like a drug. The more you take her, the more you need for it to work."

"You built up a tolerance," Bucky guesses.

"I did," she confirms. "I didn't want to become dependent on it, so I ended up throwing it away before that happened. A good friend also pointed out to me that running away from my memories would never let me heal completely."

"How do you cope with the nightmares now?"

She wishes she had an answer for that.

* * *

He cleans the house when Hermione leaves for work, even if she's already told him he doesn't need to. It keeps him occupied, and it makes him feel useful. It's nice, feeling useful for something good for a change.

When the house is cleaned and both cats have been fed, he goes to the sofa and turns on the TV. There's usually nothing interesting at that hour of the day, but the noise is a nice distraction.

A news channel is on, and the images that appear in the screen behind the woman talking catch Bucky's attention.

"… _although The Avengers have yet to pronounce on the topic_ , _Pepper Potts, Stark Industries' CEO and fiancé of Tony Stark, has assured that the issue is being discussed by the team and will soon be addressed_ ," the woman was saying, while a blonde woman appeared on screen talking to reporters. " _Secretary Ross has publicly demanded the Avengers to comply with the Sokovia Accords, and has assured that he'll personally address the team's leader, Captain Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America, in the following days._ "

An image of Captain America appears on screen then, next to a man Bucky quickly recognises as Iron Man. It takes Bucky only a second to recognise the suit and the shield he's carrying.

It's the guy on the bridge.

Steve Rogers.


	3. AN

**Sorry this is not an update. It is really hard for me to write this note, as I just arrived to this world of fan fiction (as a writer), but I find myself dreading to turn on my computer every morning, or check my emails, out of fear of what I might find in my Inbox.**

 **When I started writing, I never once thought on doing it for reviews, comments or anything of the sort. I wrote because I love to write. Because I've read so much that I asked myself: why not try it?**

 **I've been reading FF for years, always as a Guest. I've often left reviews in stories I loved. And I've found myself criticizing some other stories. Never to the author, but to myself. I would never presume to be entitled to reach to an author and tell them 'your work is bad, your work does not deserve to be here'.**

 **Those are the kind of comments I've received on my stories. Not all of the comments, mind you. There have been some pretty amazing comments, and that's brought a smile to my face, even if the comment next, a pretty nasty one, would cloud that happiness.**

 **I never wrote for the reviews, but it pains me to admit I'm going to stop writing because of them. Some might think 'just active the moderate reviews option and delete them'. Yes, I thought so myself.**

 **But then, I also thought: I'm doing this for me, because I like writing. Why do I have to live with this kind of anxiety every day? Why do I have to let those negative comments torment me?**

 **Maybe this is drastic, and maybe I'm a coward. But I just don't think it's worth it. Life and art should be precious, appreciated. Not brought down. I don't think I want to stay in a community when that happens on a daily basis.**

 **I'm sorry. Thank you for your time. Keep reading, keep writing, and please be nice to each other.**

 **All my love,**

 **Noelle.**


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